


walking in the wind

by suiseihoneymoon



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: College Setting, M/M, Very slight angst?, inspired by last game!, lower middle class kenma, rich kuroo, slow burn but very fast slow burn, some fluff!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-14 21:01:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29922768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suiseihoneymoon/pseuds/suiseihoneymoon
Summary: Kuroo Tetsurou is used to a life of attention and crowds. Being the son of a CEO of a famous sports gear company, Kuroo naturally attracted attention wherever he went. So used to all the attention, he is stumped when all of a sudden, he’s not the talk of the town when he reaches the second year of elementary school.
Relationships: Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou
Kudos: 15
Collections: Haikyuu Big Bang 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!! Thank you for clicking into this fic!! It was really a brain baby that I couldn't get out of my head so I'm glad I finally got it out!!! Hope you'll enjoy this ride :)

Kuroo Tetsurou is used to a life of attention and crowds. 

Being the son of a CEO of a famous sports gear company, Kuroo naturally attracted attention wherever he went. Sometimes, even the teachers would shower him with praise. (“Kuroo, good job on the test as usual.” “Woah! Kuroo! You’re the only person who scored full marks again!” “Kuroo! You’re so good at sports!” were amongst many other phrases that he often heard ever since young.)

But Kuroo isn’t your average rich man’s son. Yes, he has good grades and is sociable and well-mannered, but he is also genuine, sincere, considerate. Only one of the many reasons why he has so many girls fawning over him.

Also, the reason why Kuroo Tetsurou feels stumped when he realizes suddenly that he’s not the talk of the town when he reaches the second year of elementary school.

For another kid.

He can’t ignore it either. Not when that’s all that his classmates are talking about either. “Hey, Kuroo!’’ one boy in his class says, “Do you know that new grade 1 kid who scored straight A’s and topped his level in the recent exams? I heard there wasn’t anyone else whose results could rival his at all!!”

Kuroo’s curiosity is piqued. Could it be Ushijima Wakatoshi, son of the top volleyball athlete in Japan? No, he thinks shaking his head, he’s pretty sure that Ushijima would have attended a private school over a public one. For his part, Kuroo chose to go to a public school because he didn’t like competing with elites and, now, he would rather keep the genuine friends he made here than the sense of exclusivity any school can provide.

He gets up and replies, amused, “I don’t think so. What class is he in? I wanna check him out.” 

“He’s in class 1-A! Gotta be quick though, class is starting in 10 minutes!” 

As Kuroo makes his way down the stairs, a grin spreads across his face, excitement barely contained to see this new talk of the town.

So the new talk of the town is just sitting in the far right corner of the class, PSP in hand, looking down. Kuroo looks at him.

* * *

No one really seems to bother talking to him. After the first few times when they tried to and he could barely hold a conversation for 2 minutes, they stopped trying. Occasionally, Kozume Kenma looks up to observe what’s going on around in class, and probably, upon seeing mostly mindless banter and laughter, he looks down again.

It’s just like any other normal day. Except, there is suddenly a senior in his class and suddenly, everyone is staring at him. 

“You’re looking for Kenma! He’s right there! The pudding head!” someone yells.

His head jerks up as he suddenly hears his name being called. Instead of seeing the faces that he’s familiar with, he sees a boy with rooster-like hair who he has never seen before. Kenma frowns once he realises that the boy is walking towards him.

“You’re the one who topped your level with insanely high grades?” The voice comes from close. He looks at the boy. He’s smirking, but there are no signs of arrogance nor superiority in his gaze. Amazement fills his eyes, and he’s bouncing excitedly on his feet. _An interesting person_ , Kenma thinks.

“Yes, and you are…?” Kenma replies, unsure. 

“I’m Kuroo Tetsurou, I’m in my second year!’’ the boy, Kuroo, says as he shifts on his place, “I heard of you from my classmates so I came down to see you!”

“I see. Well… now you’ve seen me,” Kenma deadpans.

Kuroo cocks his head to the side, a confused look on his face. Kenma isn’t sure why Kuroo is sporting such an expression, but he isn’t curious enough to ask. He glances at Kuroo another time before he decides that his game is worth more attention.

From his peripheral eyes, he sees Kuroo just standing there, looking a little unsure of what he should do next. After a few seconds, Kenma’s head perks up as Kuroo finally says, “I’ll see you again, Kenma!” and runs out of the classroom. 

_Huh, what a weird person…_

* * *

Kuroo runs back to his classroom for his next class, unable to do anything but think about Kenma, about how interesting he seems. Most are usually in awe, amazement, or thrilled when Kuroo talks to them for the first time. The fact that this is the first time someone showed such little interest in him doesn’t go unnoticed. 

He would be lying if he said this hadn’t intrigued him.

As he sits in his place, he tells himself that he _has_ to find Kenma again and become friends with him. 

The next day, Kuroo shows up at Kenma’s classroom again. He tries to get Kenma’s attention with all sorts of methods: waving his hands in front of his face, talking really loudly, and threatening to grab Kenma’s phone (but never following through, Kenma realises after the first time he does so for 5 whole minutes without taking action).

Kenma really doesn’t care about another person who’s there to be friends with him just because he has good grades and all. So, he doesn’t put much thought into Kuroo’s constant pestering. Kuroo, on the other hand, only seems to become more determined to attract Kenma’s attention as the days pass.

One day, when Kenma least expects it, Kuroo marches into his class and stares down at Kenma until he’s forced to look up, pulled in by his intense gaze. Kenma shifts in his seat uncomfortably, unsure of what Kuroo hopes to achieve with this, idly wishing that Kuroo would stop. He wants to go back to his game. 

Then, Kuroo suddenly proclaims, “Kozume Kenma, I, Kuroo Tetsurou will get you to talk to me. No matter what it takes.”

The expression on Kuroo’s face is so determined, so focused, that it _almost_ surprises him. He has to fight the urge to stare. 

Amused, Kenma replies, “I might consider if you could beat this level of _Monster Hunter._ ”

Kuroo’s mouth falls open and Kenma lets out a small laugh at his expression, and the way his movements halt, suddenly flustered. Quickly, Kuroo regains his composure and looks back at Kenma confidently. 

“Deal.”

That is only one of the many challenges Kenma posed to Kuroo. 

* * *

Kenma soon realises that Kuroo is rich—like filthy rich—when his classmates ask about his relationship with the son of the biggest sports gear company one day. 

It doesn’t particularly bother him. Kuroo treats him like any other person, and no one pokes further in their friendship, since, other than the occasional hum to acknowledge Kuroo, Kenma is mostly on his PSP while Kuroo talks.

Sometimes, Kuroo asks to borrow his PSP to try beating the boss that Kenma challenged him to defeat. All those times, Kenma lets him. 

The first few times, though, Kuroo fails terribly. Despite knowing the controls, his hand-to-eye coordination is horrible, so he dies within the first 10 seconds of starting the level. 

“This is so hard!’’ Kuroo whines, loudly complaining after his third try, “How do you even control the character _and_ attack at the same time?”

“It’s just a matter of getting used to. Besides, there are strategies to beat the monster.’’ Kenma shrugs. “When the monster is attacking, run from it and use a long-range attack. When the monster falls and becomes vulnerable, run in and spring your best attack.”

Kuroo’s eyes widen in realisation. “Kenma, that’s genius! You’re such a genius!”

Kenma ducks his head, not used to receiving compliments on his gaming skills. He doesn’t think much of it, since he’s been playing for a while. Instead of saying anything, he patiently teaches Kuroo the different mechanics of the game, because Kuroo seems to be a genuine beginner at video games.

However, Kuroo doesn’t manage to beat the boss even after Kenma teaches him the technique to do so. They only have about half an hour since their breaks don’t really match up, and there are lots of techniques for Kuroo to learn in the game.

Kuroo’s smirking as he says, confidently, “I’ll drop by again tomorrow! I’ll definitely defeat the boss then!”

“See you then, Kuro,” Kenma acknowledges. 

“Kuro?” Kuroo asks, head cocked to the side.

“Yeah. “Kuroo”’s too long,” Kenma says with a straight face.

At that, Kuroo barks out a laugh. “If you say so. See you!” he says, already walking backwards as he slips out of the classroom and into the hallway.

* * *

The next day, Kuroo does as promised and drops by again. 

“Kenma! Lend me your PSP! I’m gonna beat the boss today!” 

Kenma smiles a little at his enthusiasm to play his game. No one ever took such an interest in his games before, not even his parents. He feels grateful that he finally has someone to enjoy the game with. 

Not that playing alone isn’t fun, of course, not at all. He loves playing alone when there’s no one to scream instructions beside him or make useless commentary about what he’s doing. But Kuroo... is different. Kuroo is observant. He notices the small nuances in his games and points those out. He’s able to grasp the basics of the game without many questions. Kenma’s even sure that he’s only still not that good at playing only because he isn’t yet used to the controls, but he’s definitely getting there.

Kenma finds that he doesn’t mind; he isn’t bothered by the questions or the hanging out. Heck, he even likes it when Kuroo is around to play games with him. 

Quietly, he grabs the device out of his bag and passes it to Kuroo. Grinning, Kuroo takes the device out of its casing to impatiently turn on the game and start playing. 

Today, Kuroo seems much more acquainted with the controls. He is controlling the character better than he was the day before, and his attacks look a lot cleaner, with fewer fumbles in between.

As the boss loses more HP while Kuroo lands attack after attack cleanly on him, Kenma’s looking at him. He just contemplates that Kuroo might actually beat the boss this time when suddenly, Kuroo’s character fails to dodge a fatal attack in time and dies. 

“Damn it! I almost had it there! Again!” he groans before proceeding to restart his boss fight. 

Kenma still thinks that it’s pretty impressive that Kuroo became this good in such a short amount of time.

This time, Kuroo puts more attention on dodging the boss while still maintaining his attacks, Kenma notices. In the end, it takes him a while, but he eventually defeats the boss. 

The moment he does so, he jumps out of his chair and says, “Kenma! I did it! I beat the boss!”

“Yeah, you did. That was pretty good.’’ Kenma nods. “Took me a few tries to get that boss down too.”

“Hey, now that I’ve defeated the boss, does this mean you’ll be friends with me?” Kuroo asks, voice low. Idly, Kenma thinks he looks nervous. 

Friends. Something Kenma never really thought about, as most people didn’t really care to interact with him. This is the first time anyone has ever repeatedly talked to him for such a long period of time. Kenma thinks that Kuroo might just be his first friend.

“I thought we were just two people who happened to be in this classroom during our breaks, but whatever floats your boat.” Kenma smirks. 

Kenma chuckles a little at Kuroo’s flabbergasted expression and at his whiny protest. 

He thinks that he’s glad he met Kuroo. 

* * *

The years pass by pretty quickly. Kenma continues to score perfect or near-perfect grades in his exams, and, over time, people get used to him not being the most sociable person in school. Mostly, his classmates and everyone else leave him alone, save for the times when Kuroo comes to his classroom to chat him up. He’s also gotten used to Kuroo’s presence and his weird antiques as he realises that Kuroo is a pretty fun person to hang out with. 

Soon enough, Kuroo is in his last year and it’s time for him to decide which middle school he wants to go to.

Kenma pretty much knows where he wants to go for middle and high school. His family isn’t the most well-off, and since he’s lazy to travel far, he chooses nearby schools to go to. They aren’t hard to get into; Kenma would be able to get in easily with his grades. Kuroo knows this.

“Kenma! Have you decided which middle school you wanna go to?” Kuroo asks one day.

“Don’t you think it’s a little early to ask this question?’’ Kenma asks, frowning slightly, “Anyways, kinda. I’m thinking of just going to a public school nearby.”

“Oh. You’re not going to the better middle schools,” Kuroo says, sounding a little disappointed. 

“Nah. We don’t really have the money for that,’’ Kenma shrugs, “Besides, a shorter traveling distance means I can spend more time at home to help mom with chores and all that,” he explains with finality.

Kuroo realises the difference between himself and Kenma. Unlike Kenma, he doesn’t need to take into consideration money or distance; he never has had to worry about money, and he is chauffeured to and from school every day. 

Furthermore, his parents tolerated Kuroo’s decision to lay low and attend a public school of lower status, instead of attending higher status or private ones like the other kids, but that was only until elementary school. His parents thought that his middle and high school would matter too much for Kuroo to make the decision by himself, and thus from the young age of 11, his future schools have already been secured. He would still be allowed to attend public schools, but only if they were of good status, if not private, and his choices would be even more limited to the select few.

As a result, Kuroo and Kenma ended up separating at elementary school. Kuroo, at grade 6, and Kenma, at grade 5. Unfortunately for Kuroo, as much as he really wanted to hang out with Kenma even into middle and high school, his interaction with Kenma seems to be inevitably cut off.

Kuroo ends up in a prestigious middle school, which also gives him automatic access to one of the top high schools in the nation. No less expected from the son of a multinational corporation. But there hasn’t been a time when he has ever forgotten about his peculiar friend, heck, he even made multiple attempts to try to reconnect with Kenma again. Unfortunately, his search results on FaceBook and Twitter turn up empty each time, and he eventually accepts that he might never be in contact with Kenma again.

His memories of Kenma almost completely slip when he enters university. He’s made new friends, in both middle and high school, and even a handful in university -- those who stick with him even after they realise that Kuroo isn’t the typical rich man’s son: flirtatious, flamboyant, showy, but instead, humble, respectful, unassuming. 

That is, until one day, he’s walking up the stairs in the school of Computing with Tsukishima Kei, his high school junior who decided to attend the same university as him. He’s about to Tsukishima around the school, introducing the various general facilities to him, when he sees a familiar stature that he’d never thought he’d see quite this soon.

Mischievous grin already spreading across his face, he strides up. “Oho? Came to the same school I see?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenma thought that Kuroo should have forgotten about him by now, social status and all. Apparently not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> second chapter is here! relatively short compared to the first, but hope its enjoyable :)

Kenma thinks that they might be better off if Kuroo forgot about him when he graduates high school and moves onto university. He really  _ should _ have, Kenma thinks, but apparently, that wasn’t the case, he notices once he bumps into him along the corridor of his faculty and sees a shit-eating grin spread across his face. Behind him, a tall blond kid with spectacles is drawing out his phone, uninterested in whatever that’s about to unfold.

“Oho? Came to the same school I see?” Kuroo taunts.

“Not like I came with the intention of entering the same school as you. Since when were you even interested in Computer Science anyways?” Kenma retorts lazily, not bothering to look up from his phone.

“My friend studies here. My major’s Chemistry,” Kuroo replies, jabbing his thumb in the direction of Tsukishima. “I’m just about to bring him on an exclusive school tour by yours truly. He’s Tsukishima, a first year student, same as you.”

Tsukishima doesn't seem fazed by Kuroo’s introduction, instead opting to continue swiping at whatever he was already. 

“Cool. I’m headed off for class. I’ll see you around, I guess.” Kenma replies nonchalantly, to which Kuroo’s grin widens as he bids his goodbye and they go their separate ways. Kenma doesn’t think much about his encounter again, immediately assuming that he probably won’t be seeing Kuroo anytime soon again.

Except, through the next few days, he finds Kuroo ending up outside his classrooms and lecture theatre a lot more often than he’d thought. More often than not, Kuroo’s there to challenge Kenma to play a new game he found on his phone or on the internet. 

They fall into an easy routine of Kuroo turning up at Kenma’s school, sometimes alone, sometimes with friends. Sometime in the middle, Kuroo introduces Yaku and Kai to Kenma, who he learns are Kuroo’s friends from high school. They become quick friends, Kenma enjoying the constant friendly banter between Yaku and Kuroo, and he likes to hang out with Kai as two soft-spoken buddies. 

Kenma, contrary to popular belief, also manages to make his own friends. Well, friend. He knows Tora by extension of making friends with Fukunaga, who he sees often enough in his class. They’re both often alone, seated at the back, and Kenma finds comfort in having someone else who’s similar to him, and they click automatically. Tora, not so much. He doesn’t quite understand how Tora and Fukunaga became friends, given how loud Tora is usually, and it also makes him want to keep his distance from Tora. Their personality differences have led to multiple disagreements, but after a large fight between Tora and Kenma, which Fukunaga skillfully deflects in his own awkward manner, they become unusual friends. 

The years pass by, and Kenma leads his life like any other normal university student; he studies, occasionally goes out with friends, but other than that, there’s really not much to Kenma’s life.

Which is why he doesn’t expect when Kuroo decides to spring up a surprisean unexpected surprise in his third year.

* * *

Kenma’s just finished his classes for the day and is already walking over to the campus bus stop when he catches Kuroo jogging to catch up with him. Confused, he moves to the side of the pathway and waits for Kuroo; he’s never been this urgent in finding him. 

“What’s up?” Kenma quirks an eyebrow. 

“Ah… I was looking for you at your school but your classmates said you’d already left. I was hoping…” Kuroo starts, voice wavering near the end. “You uh, wanna grab some food?” 

Kenma mulls over his options for a second. On one hand, he’s glad that classes are over and that he’s able to go home already, but he also hasn't eaten lunch and he’s more than a little hungry. Furthermore, if Kuroo was desperate enough to chase him down, this must be something important, right? So he chooses to grab a meal with Kuroo over going home. 

“Sure,” he says as he starts walking towards the food court. 

During their meal, Kuroo looks a little out of sorts. His eyes are staring at his food most of the time, and his hands are stiff, making his actions look almost robotic. 

Which is strange, because Kenma doesn’t know a Kuroo who’s nervous, on edge, or quiet. The Kuroo he knows is confident, relaxed, outgoing. In all honesty, it worries Kenma. A lot. But Kenma has had his fair share of troubles that caused him to deviate from his usual behavior before too, and he thinks that he knows well enough that if Kuroo felt comfortable enough saying something, he’d say it, so he keeps quiet through the course of the meal. 

Needless to say, it ends up being quite awkward between the both of them as Kenma’s unsure of how to approach Kuroo while Kuroo’s too nervous to say anything. Despite this, they finish their meal and Kenma makes his way to the bus stop, Kuroo insisting that he walk Kenma there. 

However, along the way, Kuroo pulls his hands out of his pockets abruptly and runs them violently through his hair, almost shouting, “Gods, I can’t take this anymore! Kenma, make a final bet with me?” 

Kenma stops in his tracks, confused at Kuroo’s sudden outburst. “What?”

Gulping, Kuroo releases a breath before he elaborates, “So you know that I’m in my last year, and life after graduation probably won’t be so kind to me, so I was hoping that I’d be able to spend the year with you more meaningfully, and so that we, or I, could, y’know, not graduate with regrets or something?” he ends sheepishly, one hand scratching the back of his head. 

Kenma nods, waiting for Kuroo to finish. 

“So y’know we started a kind of bet system back in elementary school. Let’s bring that back. Make a final bet, and whoever wins the bet can ask for anything they want.”

“Cool,” Kenma responses, “What’s the bet?” 

“Hm, since our first real interaction centered around games, wanna see if I can actually beat you at a game, fair and square?” Kuroo suggests. 

“Didn’t you already beat me at Smash Bros the other day?” Kenma asks. 

“Doesn’t count! You were distracted!” Kuroo protests. 

“Mario Kart?”

“Yakkun helped. Not solo effort.” 

“Alright then,” Kenma shrugs. 

“So… that’s a yes?” Kuroo asks, hope creeping in his voice. 

“Yes, you idiot,” Kenma rolls his eyes, “I look forward to the day you make your stand against me.” 

Kuroo splutters, saying something about him being capable enough to win the bet, and that Kenma has good reason to fear Kuroo’s gaming capabilities. 

His actions are still a little stiff, betraying his nervous nature, but he looks a lot better compared to earlier, and Kenma’s worry subsides a little. 

When Kenma finally boards his bus, Kuroo has become completely relaxed and an easy smile rests on his face as Kenma feigns a deadpan look at him through the bus window. 

An interesting start to the year, Kenma thinks. He looks forward to it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'll be updating this fic every monday and thursday, so be sure to look out for the next chapter!!! as usual, find me on [twitter](twitter.com/miyucloud) :)

**Author's Note:**

> make friends with me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/miyucloud) :)


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